Neosho Youth Football roundup

It was a rough weekend for both the Neosho Black and Neosho Gold youth football teams on Saturday as they combined to go 1-7 overall against Seneca and East Newton.

Levi Payton

It was a rough weekend for both the Neosho Black and Neosho Gold youth football teams on Saturday as they combined to go 1-7 overall against Seneca and East Newton.

Only the Neosho Black third grader’s earned a victory, with a 14-6 triumph over the Indians at Earl Campbell Stadium.

Neosho Black vs. SenecaAt Seneca

Third gradeNeosho 14, Seneca 6

With two minutes left in regulation the Indians marched the ball down to Neosho’s one-yard line, but the Wildcats’ defense would rise to the occasion and stopped the Indians right there, forcing a turnover on downs. Two plays later, Neosho’s Logan Whetzell sprinted free on a 97 yard touchdown run, capped by a two-point conversion run by Hayden Crane to cap Neosho’s only victory of the day.Whetzell’s scamper capped a big day in which he rushed for 193 yards and two touchdowns. Crane ran for 10 yards and Elijah Mojica three. Brayden Hardage and Mojica teamed up for five tackles each on defense. Connor Jordan (4), Fisher Stephens (3), Marcus Duncan (3), Crane (2), Zacheria Conduff (1), Zane Boyer (2), Rafe Larson (1), Talon Mitchell (2), Whetzell (2), Seth Green (2), Lane Osborn (3), Landon McCracken (3) and Caden Misner (2) also had tackles.

The Indians also blanked Neosho in the fifth grade game as the Indians’ defense really made its mark on the day. Sam Cook led Neosho in rushing with 55 yards on the ground while Quincey Willis chipped in 25. Willis also added 35 return yards and had six tackles. Payton Morris had two tackles, Cook finished with six, Kaden Dickens one, Carter Elder 1.5, R.J. Long 1.5, Grant Baslee two, Levi Campbell one, and Mason Gammons one.

Neosho Gold was swept in all four of their games at NHS. East Newton jumped out early in this one and never looked back. Noah Reed and Trent Neece chipped in with 48 and 45 yards, respectively, on the ground to lead Wildcat runners. Lukas Erickson ran for 10 yards and Tristen Mason had two.Neece connected with Reed on a two-yard pass. Neece had 5.5 tackles for the Wildcats followed by Pete Houk (2.5), Erickson (.5), Reed (4), Mason (4), Kolby Hood (3.5), Ellis Pendergraft (.5), and Harrison Slinkard (.5).

Fourth gradeEast Newton 18, Neosho 16

In a game that went right down to the wire, the fourth grade game made for the closest outcome of the day. While the Indians managed to hang three touchdowns, the Neosho offense was busy trying to match that as Domenick Kirkwood and Dalton Brodie each found pay dirt while Landon Austin and Cayden Auch both chipped in a two-point conversion. Kirkwood led the team with 68 yards rushing. Austin had 37, Brodie 34, Auch 29, Liedtke 25 and Landon Kivett 3. Dylan Adams led the Wildcats with nine tackles. Auch, Gavin Linny and Kirkwood each had seven. Brodie had six stops, Myles Buck and Austin both had four, Kivett and Cooper Beaver finished with two, while Liedtke and Trenton Fickle got one each.

Fifth gradeEast Newton 22, Neosho 14

Another close game went the Patriots’ way. Neosho’s Gage Kelley was in on every Wildcats score, with each coming in a different category. First, Kelley plunged into the end zone on a 43 yard run. Later, he tossed a 33-yard strike to Jace Parmely and scored again on a two-point conversion. Kelley led the team with 51 yards rushing and 33 passing. Parmely and Zane Persinger both ran for three yards while Brett Camerer had two and Nakota Bach added one. Parmely had the only catch of the day for the Wildcats and, along with Kelley, added three tackles.Hunter Box had a five-yard return and two tackles. Others with tackles for Neosho were: Bach (1), Brady Franklin (5), Chase Capps (3), Dylan Collins (3), Cameron Kirshner (1), Camerer (6), Ryan DePaul (1), Ryder Schnackenberg (1), Jaden Harter (2), Connor Burghart (2), Matt Houk (6), Persinger (9), and Tyler Lewis (1).

Sixth gradeEast Newton 38, Neosho 8

East Newton’s offense was too much for the Wildcats to overcome in the sixth grade contest. Colton Mouse scored the only Wildcats touchdown on a 23 yard run. Dylan Jordan took the honors with 57 yards on the ground to lead the Wildcats while Braxton Barnes amassed 49 and Mouse 18 total. Barnes also turned in 11 passing yards. He connected with Connor McGehee on a two-yard toss and Mouse on a nine-yard gain. Barnes and Jordan each had a return of 12 yards. Barnes and Ethan White each had five tackles. Blake Norris and Jordan had four stops. Mouse dragged down three runners while Issack Howard stopped two and McGehee one.